What is your value?

I’m the accumulation of all my skills and talents. I’m wisdom and creativity.  (Breaking the Time Barrier by the co-founder of FreshBooks)

Do you know what you’re worth? And do you let others know too?

Here’s my story of self-worth…

Two weeks ago I was contacted via email by the recruiter of a young tech company, asking if I would be interested in a position with the company. Since it’s not so easy to get another job nowadays of course I said yes, and we scheduled a 30 minute call for later in the week. I did my homework, thoroughly investigating the company’s products, target market, work environment, etc. Everything looked promising and no doubt a company I would love to be part of.

Friday afternoon came and I took the call in my car on the mobile. The corporate recruiter was a chirpy young lady who told me about the company, its culture, and then about the translator position I applied for. This was a full-time, 8 to 5, onsite job in a pool of over 30 colleagues. Very interesting, considering that not many companies hire their own translators. This was a software company, but it sounded like they had their own translation agency and that was really cool!! They already had two people with my language skills and were looking to add one more. I listened and asked a few questions. The answers gave me some reservations but I was willing to compromise if the offer was attractive enough. The more the recruiter told me, the more excited I felt about joining the company! But then… we hit a huge bump that was not negotiable. Suddenly my 30-minute interview was cut by 10 minutes. What?? What happened? Really? That was it?All questions going through my head as it sunk in that the interview had ended.

Of course the major bump was related to the salary the company offered for the position, and … there was NO room for negotiation. That was the abrupt end of the story. “If you change your mind, please give us a call,” was the last thing I heard. Well, heck!! You want to offer me what I’m already earning now (with bonus), for a much more technical job? I couldn’t believe it! Sometimes translators really get no respect! I felt deflated but then I got pissed. They didn’t know me, didn’t know the quality of my work, didn’t know that I’m a good team player and would be a real asset to their company.

Wow, I never got a chance to demonstrate my knowledge and experience, just because I didn’t jump at the first offer they made. After I felt pissed, I felt deflated again and disappointed (that’s the female prerogative, up and down like a roller-coaster ride). As I started to analyze what happened, I think I felt relieved that we didn’t even go to second base (second set of interviews). And here are the reasons why:

Commute – their office was further away, which would double my commute. Who wanted that?

Environment – open office space is not an issue, but when I’m translating, I can’t have any interruptions that make the translation formulated in my head go “poof”, to start all over again. Well okay, that could probably be remedied with a headset and music.

Tools – when I asked if they used specific software, the recruiter wasn’t sure and said she didn’t think so. Hello!! Even I use software for my freelance assignments. How is a large and growing company not even investing in the bare minimum? But okay, if they’d let me I could use my own.

Hours – strict 8 to 5 pm, no telecommuting. Are you kidding me? You are a mobile services company but you don’t allow your employees to work from home? Home, where I do my best work when no one is around, because they’re either out or sleeping? This was the “modern” company with open space but no flextime? Hmm, alarm bells started ringing in my head…

Salary – the big roadblock. I can be flexible and earn my way up with hard work, but when I looked at all I would get for the money, in the end it wasn’t worth it. I am worth more than that!

In hindsight, I don’t think this company wanted someone (seasoned) like me, because they cut me out based solely on the point of what they were willing to pay for the job. The recruiter clearly didn’t expect all my questions and probably thought I would immediately jump at the opportunity. In a way I’m glad that I didn’t fit their bill. I realized then that there is probably no company that comes close to paying me what I’m worth. For that I have to build my own business, without limits. Rewards come in many forms and I’m ready for the challenge.

These feelings were reinforced when I read “Breaking the Time Barrier” by Mike McDerment and Donald Cowper. The red line in this book is, that we should not measure our worth based on money for time. Not only will that limit your income potential, but it will also wear you out trying to make more money by working more hours. What a coincidence to read the book, just after my “failure” to land the job. It was perfect timing and confirmed that I was right not to jump at the first offer the recruiter made. If they didn’t want to pay me what I’m worth, they can’t afford me and I can’t afford to lament the lost opportunity. I’m sure there will be more to come.

So now I’m back to my project board(s), where I am once again focusing on my goals and how to achieve them.

Have you ever been in a similar situation? How did you handle it?